How to Stop Yawning When Singing

By Serena Styles ; Updated April 12, 2017

When you sign, you produce music with your voice by manipulating the tone and rhythm that you produce. Singing can be done for fun--such as singing in the shower or singing karaoke--or it can be done for formal occasions--such as religious gatherings or professional performances. Regardless of the reason, some people run into problems when singing, with one often unmentioned problem being yawning when singing. This is not a sign of being uninterested or tired. Though the true cause for yawning is still not scientifically known, most speculation points to your body trying to take in more oxygen. The yawning can be slowed or even stopped with the use of a few techniques before and while you are singing.

Breathe deeply for 5 to 10 minutes before you sing. Try to breathe in for 6 seconds, hold this breath for 1 second and then exhale for 4 seconds. Repeating this breath pattern before you sing will help your lungs feel oxygenated and will reduce yawning.

Don’t think about yawning before or while you are singing. Yawning is contagious, and seeing someone else yawn or even thinking about yawning can make you yawn more frequently.

Take more breaths when you sing. This can be difficult if you are holding long notes or singing a fast-paced song, but it will help prevent yawning. Work in more breaths between short breaks in the song. When the song pauses, quickly exhale before breathing in. Exhaling rids your body of old air that doesn’t have as much oxygen in it.

Breathe deeply between songs. Use the breathing method described in Step 1. Even if you can only fit in three or four breaths in this pattern, it will help.

Tip

The frequency of your yawns can be increased when your body is in need of sleep--be sure to get a full night’s rest before you sing.